Memories Of A Witness

Chapter Three

It was strange.

Megan found more comfort in a person whom she had only known for a day than a guy she dad seen for almost a year. Time didn't matter, character did.

Candice was indeed her best friend. Even though she couldn't remember their memories, she couldn't remember her, it felt like she had known her for so many years, which she did in fact. The words she had uttered yesterday, made her feel safe and resonated to her more than the usual small talk she had with her dad. They exchanged laughs, words, looks and drinks. The atmosphere was electrifying, calming and buoyant. It was a feeling she'd never really felt before.

They spent the evening listening to hip hop and reminiscing their past. Candice mostly talked, and Megan just kept listening to her. She remembered one memoir vividly. Her friend divulged how she had once climbed up a crane and drove it around.

"You don't think I can do it?" Megan had asked Blaise. They were apparently playing truth or dare at night, and he had dared her to go climb the crane. Jokingly, of course. But to their shock, she had actually done it. And even rotated it. Candice explained how a worker had opened up the metal hatch for her when she had reached the top. The worker then allowed her to go to the cockpit. "You used to be so brave. You didn't even shake when you went up there. We thought you were going to climb down back after a few steps, but you didn't," she recalled.

All the stories she had told her yesterday left her speechless. Now she had a crystal clear image of her old self. She was scary and amazing at the same time. In the end they both became lightheaded and took a shower to wash away the smell. Megan found herself liking wine. The effect was magical. Her worries had disappeared, her shoulders relaxed, her imaginations went berserk.

When Candice said her goodbyes, she gave her her number. Megan made a note to herself to call her a lot.

I am now sitting in the dining hall, munching on a sandwich and drinking green tea. I wish it was wine.

"So what did you two do yesterday?" he asked. Her dad was sitting next to her and reading a newspaper. While the young girls were enjoying their time yesterday, he seemed to have cleaned the house to some extent. All the trash that were loitering around had disappeared and he even opened some of the usual locked windows. Temporarily.

"Just some talking."

"And did you remember something?"

"No."

He hummed.

"I like her. She's nice."

He hummed again.

After a while of awkwardly perching next to each other, she got up to leave the room.

"Megan, wait," she heard him say. 

She turned around. "Yes?"

"Never trust someone easily."

His words stung, but she shrugged it away and nodded. She headed back upstairs. Her fortress.

She shut her bedroom door with her leg and grabbed her phone. She pressed down Candice's number.

"Hello?" answered the familiar modulated voice. A cacophony of voices were audible in the background.

"Hay, it's Megan."

"Megan? I didn't expect you to call so soon!" she replied now with a stentorian manner.

She chuckled awkwardly. "I wondered if you could visit me again today. You know, I'm not allowed to go outside," she murmured, while resisting the urge to bite on her painfully short nails. They were nibbled down to the skin and torn in places. They were unattractive.

"Uh, I don't think I can come today. I have uni work and all. I'm also sure that your dad won't let me visit you again for a long time."

Suddenly her heart felt heavy. She didn't believe her. Yesterday had been fun and all, but today felt like she rejected her. She was boring yesterday. She wasn't the person she had expected to meet yesterday. "Oh, okay, I understand. Sorry if I was interrupting you."

Candice didn't reply. She seemed to have moved the phone away from her face, because in the distant she could hear her talking and giggling with someone else. Megan didn't cancel the call though. In some way, hearing people laugh and prattle, removed her feeling of loneliness.

A rustle reverberated through the line. "Hello? You still there? Sorry, someone needed to talk to me."

"It's okay."

"I need to hang up. I will call you back, okay?"

"Okay."

Megan didn't expect the call to turn out like that.

***

The rain hammered ferociously against the window and it was soothing her thoughts, washing all the tension away. She lay on my bed as always, nothing on her hands to do. She watched the glistening particles of dust in the air, as her hand was trying to catch them. But with each attempt, they floated further away.

After her phone call with Candice, all the hopes she held of her future dissolved. She really thought they were going to spend every day together, laughing and reminiscing, but it seemed like she was the only one thinking that way. Her mood instantly changed and even during dinner with her dad, he had noticed it and asked her why she looked so gloomy. A brusque question, also a small act of concern. Maybe he loved her after all.

She sighed. Right now she actually did feel like a prisoner. No digital world, no going outside of home. Megan did understand that her father was only trying to protect her, but she still wished she could go outside and hang out with Candice, be surrounded by her and her friends. Laugh and crack jokes just how she heard her friends do on the phone. Imagining herself away from this house, she smiled. Yesterday's taste of freedom, must've released those thoughts.

Just as she was longing for liberty, god must've heard her prayers, because in that moment, her phone started to ring. And it could only be one person.

"Megan, you there?" 

"Yeah, what's up?"

"Okay, I know this is gonna sound crazy, and I know that I'm even more crazy to ask you about this, but there's this frat party and I wondered if you'd like to go? We can sneak off without your dad noticing and I do have plan in mind if you say yes."